Answering Some Conservative Hate Mail…And Destroying 5 Outright Lies

Recently I wrote an Open Letter To The NYPD about their disgraceful behavior at the funeral for Officer Rafael Ramos. The article generated a lot of feedback, from both the left and the right. But one thing that I couldn’t help but notice was that most of the responses from righties were outright hateful. Apparently I really pissed them off.

I find it interesting that the Conservatives who are sending me hate mail seem to all be making very similar points. And it should come as no surprise that they are all parroting exactly what they heard on Fox. Honestly I think that I could overlook all the lovely names that they are calling me, if only their actual arguments contained a shred of truth.

So since the vast majority of them keep arguing the same points, I thought that I’d try to clear some things up for my poor misguided Conservative readers.

Here’s one example of the mail and responses I’m getting. I’m only including one because they all virtually sound alike.

“wow reading these comments if utterly mind blowing… the stupidity that comes out of people’s mouth is outrages… they turned there back on the Mayor for BS stance saying he told his son to be worried about cops!!! his stance with the protesters going around saying they want dead cops… and now two of there own is dead… they don’t think they are better then anyone… these men and women leave there homes never knowing what may happen to them out there… as a combat Vet i understand that feeling… they had ever right to show there out rage and contempt for a governor that is only out there trying make him self look better!!! no fk him and his lefty shit bag protesters call for dead cops, rioting, looting, racist beatings of white looking people…Al Sharpton going to these places and bring hate and violence with him… just to make a name and money for him self!!! is there bad cops out there…. YES in any large group you can find evil; no matter how “good” there intentions are.. you fk tards don’t give a shit about lives (unless it is politically convent). if you did you would be going ball to the wall after Gang Violence is low income areas, lack of a family structure, lack of education, lack of Jobs (like the ones they looted and burned in Ferguson), or even the lack of taking responsibility for you actions… If Micheal Brown did not rob that store, walk in the middle of the road, attack a police officer, or stopped and got on the ground like the officer wanted him to do… if he just did one of these he be alive today… all you see is white cop kills black kid (he was 18.. he was no kid)… who cares about all the live he might of saved in his career…. it is sad”

Now let’s break down some of their favorite Fox talking points….

1. De Blasio told his son to fear cops because cops are the bad guys.

OK, so let’s start with the first problem. Conservatives continually make the argument that Mayor de Blasio deserves no respect. And they love to defend this position by claiming that the Mayor told his son that he should fear the cops because the cops are the real bad guys. Now I realize that Conservatives take every word muttered on Fox as the gospel truth, and I hate to burst the collective bubble, but no, actually that’s not what the Mayor said.

Mayor de Blasio was simply sharing his personal experience about raising a black son in New York City. Wanting to protect your son from the realities of this world does not make him a cop hater. Here’s what he actually said on December 3rd,

“Chirlane and I have had to talk to Dante for years about the dangers that he may face. A good young man, law-abiding young man who would never think to do anything wrong. And yet, because of a history that still hangs over us, the dangers he may face, we’ve had to literally train him—as families have all over this city for decades—in how to take special care in any encounter he has with the police officers who are there to protect him.

And that painful sense of contradiction that our young people see first, that our police are here to protect us, and we honor that, and at the same time, there’s a history we have to overcome, because for so many of our young people, there’s a fear. And for so many of our families, there’s a fear.

So I’ve had to worry over the years. Chirlane’s had to worry. Is Dante safe each night? There are so many families in this city who feel that each and every night. Is my child safe? And not just from some of the painful realities—crime and violence in some of our neighborhoods—but is safe from the very people they want to have faith in as their protectors.

That’s the reality.”

2. De Blasio supported and encouraged protesters shouting that they wanted dead cops.

Again, this is simply not true. NO ONE condoned people chanting about dead cops…NO ONE. But the fact is that the group who chanted these reprehensible words was a very small isolated group. They by no means represent all of the protesters. And no matter how many times Fox plays this clip on an endless loop, it is still only one small group out of the millions who have been marching. Not Mayor de Blasio, or Al Sharpton, or President Obama, or any of your other favorite scapegoats encouraged this behavior. The dead cop chants were actually condemned by all of them.

If you seriously believe this then you are either an idiot or you’re not paying attention. 99.99% of these protests have been peaceful, and thanks to the First Amendment, they have every right to do so.

4. All of the protests are Al Sharpton’s fault.

Al Sharpton is one of Fox’s favorite villains lately. And they certainly credit him with having enormous powers to be able to cause millions of people across the country to spontaneously protest police corruption and overreach. But the fact is that with or without civil rights leaders like Sharpton, these protests would be going on. Most people understand that the entire system needs to be examined and improved.

5. Al Sharpton lead the protest where they chanted about wanting dead cops.

Fox has been deliberately and consistently playing clips of Al Sharpton spliced with the dead cops chants. This sleight of hand serves their narrative, but that does not make it factual. The funny thing about this one is that Al Sharpton, who is constantly blamed for leading this small group was actually no where near NYC that day. He was leading his own peaceful protest in Washington DC with the families of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Amadou Diallo. The people marching and chanting about dead cops happened the night of December 13th in New York City. This isolated group was not part of the Millions March NYC protesters who marched several hours earlier that day.